


Armor

by spiffykt



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 09:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13361238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiffykt/pseuds/spiffykt
Summary: Nico is having trouble coping with life on the road, but spending time with Karolina helps.





	Armor

Nico considered herself an expert at pushing people away.

Her parents, well-meaning teachers, annoying boys at school: She knew the glares, growls, and lies to make them leave her alone. But she had barely settled on a rock after storming away from camp when she heard soft footfalls on the dead leaves and saw Karolina coming over the rise.

Nico swallowed back annoyance. She’d assumed it would be Alex. The barbs she’d been ready to throw melted when she registered Karolina. She even scooted over, silently making room on the rock. Karolina sat down.

“Hey,” she said, quiet and gentle, like she was talking to a spooked animal.

“Hi,” Nico said, and her traitor voice cracked on the single syllable. “God, sorry.” She blinked hard. Her mascara wasn’t waterproof, and it wasn’t like she had a mirror to fix it.

“It’s alright,” Karolina said. She was shifting, trying to find a comfortable spot - the flat top of the rock wasn’t quite big enough for two. Their thighs touched and came apart again as she moved. “Want to talk about it?”

“It’s so dumb,” Nico said, with what was meant to be a self-deprecating chuckle. It came out more like a hiccup.

“I’m sure it’s not,” Karolina said.

Nico fiddled with the lace hem of her skirt. Even on the dark fabric, streaks of dirt showed; the hem was encrusted in dust. “I miss my clothes,” she confessed. “I went to put on a shirt this morning and just… everything smells, and it’s dirty, and…” She grasped for the right words. “I feel like my armor’s rusting,” she said, and put her hands in her head. “God, that sounds stupid.”

“It doesn’t,” Karolina said.

Her voice was so steady and soft. Nico envied Karolina’s composure. A lifetime of playing church spokesgirl would do that, she supposed - plenty of chances to practice talking to troubled teens and looking like you had it together.

“It’s just like I have this whole life sitting in my closet and I’m never going to get it back, you know?”

Karolina nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I get it. It’s weird, feeling like you can’t be the person you thought you were anymore.”

It was an odd phrasing, and it made Nico wonder who Karolina had thought she was. Human, for starters. Frank’s daughter. Headed for a normal life, college and a job.

Straight?

Nico had known she wasn’t. She remembered confiding in Amy back in middle school about her crush on Ashley from math class, just like she’d told Amy about her crush on Josh from social studies. But she’d never actually gone out with a girl before. It was like tasting ice cream after only ever seeing it in pictures. It made her a bit giddy.

“Do you remember that time we ran into each other in the bathroom, just before all this started?” she asked suddenly. “You told me I didn’t need to hide behind makeup.” She kept her gaze away from Karolina’s, focusing out on the trees.

Karolina gave a tiny chucke. “I remember. You told me I was hiding behind a smile.”

Karolina was smiling, Nico saw when she glanced over: sincere but also deeply sad. Nico had an absurd urge to kiss her, like that might fix it.

It was worth a shot.

She leaned in, and saw Karolina’s smile widen just before she closed her eyes. It was never not thrilling, kissing her.

“I don’t feel like I’m hiding with you,” Nico muttered when they separated, still close enough that she could feel Karolina’s breath on her cheek.

Karolina pulled back, and Nico was briefly affronted until she saw the grin on Karolina’s face.

“I can be your armor,” Karolina said. She sounded genuinely excited, like this was a stroke of genius.

Nico couldn’t help it - she burst out laughing. She worried that Karolina would be offended, but Karolina was laughing too.

For a wild second, Nico was convinced that everything might actually be okay.


End file.
